Hard Disc Drive Counter-Vibration System

ABSTRACT

One implementation of the present invention may take the form of a system for a hard disc drive counter-vibration device that may absorb rotational vibration or gyration of the hard disc drive module. This mounting device may incorporate at least one soft, plastic sphere and a pair of concave dished surfaces, configured to face each other and maintain the sphere between them. The sphere of the counter-vibration assembly may support the hard disc drive (HDD) while the weight of the HDD may align the dishes with each other and over the sphere. In this manner, the sphere may act as a spring and allow the HDD to vibrate or gyrate without transmitting the mechanical movement to the rest of the HDD assembly or electronic device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional No. 61/116,155entitled “HARD DISC DRIVE COUNTER-VIBRATION SYSTEM,” naming Stewart P.Marlow and Christopher Lockwood as inventors and filed on Nov. 19, 2008,the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to disc drives storage devices,and more particularly to a storage device counter-vibration system.

BACKGROUND

A hard disc drive (HDD) is a non-volatile storage device which may storedigital data. HDDs are most commonly used in personal and laptopcomputers, as well as other electronic devices, such as digital videorecorders (DVRs), cell phones, personal digital assistants, digitalcameras, home video game consoles and digital audio devices. Thesedevices utilize the HDD to store and retrieve digital information duringoperation of the devices. Generally, the HDD of an electronic device iscontained within the device for ease of use and access to the digitalinformation.

To access or store digital information, the HDD may read or write to arotating magnetic platter using an HDD head. However, many HDDs have animperfect platter balance, resulting in a rotational vibration orgyration in the HDD as the platter spins. For example, an imbalancedplatter assembly spinning at 5400 rotations per minute (rpm) may cause arotational vibration or gyration of the HDD unit at 90 hertz (Hz).Similarly, an imbalanced assembly spinning at 7200 rpm may vibrate theHDD unit at 120 Hz. This mechanical movement may be transferred throughthe case of the HDD to the electronic device itself, resulting in avibration-induced noise associated with the device. For electronicdevices intended for noiseless or quiet environments, such as a set-topbox of a television system, the vibration or gyration of the HDD withinthe electronic device may produce an unintended acoustic annoyance.

To counteract the vibration or gyration of an imbalanced HDD module,manufacturers have developed techniques in an attempt to absorb therotational vibration or gyration of an imbalanced HDD module. One commonsolution places a series of soft grommets between the HDD and a mountingbracket to absorb vibration or gyration and prevent it from beingtransferred to the device chassis. However, the extreme softness ofgrommets capable of absorbing 90-120 Hz makes them vulnerable to damageif the HDD is ever dropped or knocked. Thus, what is needed is a methodand system for absorbing rotational vibration of an imbalanced platterassembly of a HDD module that allows for more durability during movementof the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One implementation of the present invention may take the form of

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an isometric view of an embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting assemblyincorporating spheres.

FIG. 2 depicts a front view of the embodiment FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 depicts a side view of the embodiment FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 depicts a top view of the embodiment FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 depicts a bottom view of the embodiment FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of a second embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting assemblyincorporating spheres located above and below the hard drive disc.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One implementation of the present invention may take the form of asystem for a storage device counter-vibration device that may absorbrotational vibration or gyration of the hard disc drive module or otherstorage device. This mounting device may incorporate at least one soft,plastic sphere and a pair of concave dished surfaces, configured to faceeach other and maintain the sphere between them. The sphere of thecounter-vibration assembly may support the hard disc drive (HDD) whilethe weight of the HDD may align the dishes with each other and over thesphere. In this manner, the sphere may act as a spring and allow the HDDto vibrate or gyrate thus minimizing the physical movement transmittanceto the rest of the HDD assembly or electronic device. While the examplesand figures below describe a counter-vibration mechanism in relation toa HDD, it should be appreciated that the described embodiments mayprovide vibration absorption for any data storage device that mayvibrate or gyrate during operation.

FIG. 1 depicts an isometric view of an embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting systemincorporating spheres. The housing assembly may encase an HDD andinclude at least one sphere and concave surface to absorb the rotationalvibration or gyration of the HDD module. Further, the housing assemblymay also include bumper features to protect the HDD from damage if theassembly is dropped or knocked. Such a structure may also act as abarrier to direct acoustic noise generated by the HDD.

The housing assembly 100 of FIG. 1 may include a mounting bracket 104and an HDD cover 102, such that the mounting bracket and HDD cover mayform a box-like structure to house and encase an HDD 106. The HDD cover102 and mounting bracket 104 may be constructed of any material that maysupport and protect the HDD 106. For example, the HDD cover 102 andmounting bracket 104 may be constructed from a rigid plastic or sheetmetal.

Further, the HDD cover 102 may attach to, or otherwise be associatedwith, the mounting bracket 104 and thereby encase the HDD 106 within thebox-like structure. For example, the HDD cover 102 may include a snap orother similar structure to secure the HDD cover to the mounting bracket104. In the particular implementation set forth herein, the housingassembly 100 contains at least one tab and slot snap assembly 116, withthe HDD cover 102 containing a tab that engages a slot located on themounting bracket 104 such that the tab is locked in place when engaged.The housing assembly 100 may include any number of snap assemblies 1 16to hold the HDD cover 102 and the mounting bracket 104 together.Further, it should be appreciated that any device that holds the HDDcover 102 to the mounting bracket 104 may be implemented with theembodiments described herein.

When the HDD cover 102 and mounting bracket 104 are engaged, the HDD 106may be contained within the housing assembly 100. To read from and writeto the memory device, an interface opening 108 may be included in thehousing assembly 100. The interface opening 108 may provide access intothe box-like structure created by the HDD cover 102 and mounting bracket104 through which the HDD 106 may be accessed. For example, acommunication cable may be connected to the HDD 106 through the opening108 such that the electronic device accessing the HDD may communicatewith the drive. For example, a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI),Enhanced Small Disk Interface (ESDI), Advanced Technology Attachment(ATA) or similar cable may be connected to the HDD 106 for communicationwith the drive. This cable may pass through the box-like structurecreated by the HDD cover 102 and mounting bracket 104 through theinterface opening 108.

As mentioned above, HDDs may be incorporated within an electronic deviceto store digital data accessed or utilized by the device. To facilitatesuch incorporation, the housing assembly 100 may be mounted within theelectronic device using mounting posts 114 included with the mountingbracket 104. For example, a screw may pass through the mounting post 114and attach to the electronic device to secure the housing assembly 100thereto. Generally, the mounting bracket 104 may take any form thatfacilitates the inclusion of the HDD 106 within an electronic device.For example, the mounting bracket 104 may have mounting posts 114 ofvarying size to fit the electronic device. Other examples may notutilize mounting posts at all. In other embodiments, the HDD 106 may beseparate from an electronic device. In these embodiments, the mountingbracket 104 may take any form that houses the HDD 106, for example,within a durable box-like structure to protect the HDD within.

As explained in more detail below, the housing assembly 100 may includeat one or more counter-vibration assemblies 110. The counter-vibrationassemblies may include at least one sphere and a pair of concave dishedsurfaces, configured to face each other and maintain the sphere betweenthem. The physical dimensions and characteristics of the dished surfacesand the sphere may be dependent on the physical characteristics of thehousing assembly 100. The upper dish may be associated with the HDD 106through a mounting frame while the lower dish may be associated with themounting bracket 104. In this manner, the HDD 106 coupled to themounting bracket 104 may be supported by the sphere located between theupper dish and the lower dish. The housing assembly 100 may also includeseveral bumpers 112 located along the outer edge of the housingassembly. As further explained below, the bumpers 112 may prevent theHDD 106 from impacting the side walls of the box-like structure when theassembly is dropped or knocked.

FIG. 2 depicts a front view of an embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting systemincorporating one or more spheres. The housing assembly shown in FIG. 2is similar to the housing assembly shown in FIG. 1. This view, however,depicts the counter-vibration mounting assembly in more detail.

Similar to FIG. 1, the housing assembly 200 shown in this figure mayinclude an HDD cover 202 and a mounting bracket 204 encasing an HDD 206.As explained above, the mounting bracket 204 may mount the housingassembly 200 to an electronic device. The electronic device may thenaccess the HDD 206 encased within the housing assembly 200 to store andread digital information during operation of the device.

The housing assembly 200 may also include one or more counter-vibrationassemblies 210 to absorb the rotational vibration or gyration of the HDDmodule 206 during operation. The counter-vibration assemblies 210 mayinclude a sphere 220 to at least partially absorb the rotationalvibration or gyration of the HDD module 206 and thus reduce transfer ofthe mechanical movement to the mounting bracket 204. To absorb thevibration or gyration of the HDD module 206, the sphere 220 may beconstructed of a vibration absorption material, such as a softsilicone-free elastomer gel material. Further, the sphere 220 of thecounter-vibration assembly 210 may be rigid enough to support the weightof the mounting frame 226 and HDD 206 such that the HDD does not contactor rest on the mounting bracket 204, but rather the sphere 220 itself.Generally, however, the sphere 220 may be constructed from any softmaterial that may absorb vibration or gyration caused by the HDD module206 while also preventing the HDD 206 from contact with the rest of thehousing assembly 200.

The one or more counter-vibration assemblies 210 may also include anupper dish 222 and a lower dish 224 defining two concave surfaces. Theupper dish 222 and the lower dish 224 may be configured to face eachother, such that the center of each concave surface is axially alignedwhen the counter-vibration assemblies 210 are in an opposing andinverted position. Further, the sphere 220 of the counter-vibrationassembly 210 may be placed between the upper dish 222 and the lower dish224 such that the dish assemblies hold the sphere 220 between, orwithin, the concave surfaces. As explained in more detail below, theinteraction of the sphere 220 and the two dish surfaces provide supportfor the HDD 206 while allowing lateral rotational or gyrational movementof the HDD during operation, without significant mechanicaltransmission.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower dish 224 surface may be attached to orotherwise associated with the mounting bracket 204 of the housingassembly 200. Further, the sphere 220 may be located within the concavesurface of the lower dish 224 of the mounting bracket 204. Generally,the force of gravity acting on the sphere will centralize the sphere 220in the middle of the lower dish 224. The upper dish 222 surface of thecounter-vibration assemblies 210 may be attached or otherwise associatedwith a mounting frame 226. The upper dish 222, and thus the mountingframe 226, may rest on top of the sphere 220, opposite the lower dish224, such that the sphere may be rest between the two concave surfacesof the dishes. Thus, in this configuration, the mounting frame 226 maybe fully supported within the housing assembly 200 by the sphere 220.Further, as described in more detail below, several sphere and dishassemblies may be included such that the mounting frame 226 is supportedat several points by the several sphere and dish assemblies.

The HDD 206 may be mounted on one side of the mounting frame 226 suchthat the mounting frame 226 is coupled to the HDD. For example, the HDD206 may be attached to the mounting frame 226 using screws, an adhesive,or other suitable attachments. Once attached to the mounting frame 226,the HDD may be fully supported by the spheres of the one or morecounter-vibration assemblies 210 of the housing assembly 200. Asexplained in more detail below, in this configuration some or allrotational vibration or gyration generated by the HDD module 206 duringoperation may be transferred to the counter-vibration assemblies 210.

When the HDD 206 is coupled to the mounting frame 226, any rotationalvibration or gyration of the HDD module 206 may be transferred to themounting frame, including the upper dish 222 surface of thecounter-vibration assembly 210. Thus, as the HDD 206 vibrates orgyrates, the mounting frame 226 and upper dish 222 associated with themounting frame may move with the HDD, predominantly in a lateralmovement. The movement of the upper dish 222 upon the sphere 220 maycause the sphere to rotate hence depress within the counter-vibrationassembly. However, the weight of the HDD 206 and the shape of the dishsurfaces may exert sufficient force on the sphere 220 to recenter thesphere within the upper and lower dish surfaces. Thus, the sphere 220may act in a manner similar to a spring assembly to absorb lateralmovement of the HDD 206 and mounting frame 226 and return the sphereback to the center location of the dish surfaces. Further, the generalsoftness of the sphere 220 may absorb a portion of the vertical movementof the HDD due to the rotational vibration or gyration of the HDD. Inthis manner, the counter-vibration assembly 210 may facilitate lateraland vertical movement of the HDD 206 due to the rotational vibration ofan imbalanced platter without transferring the mechanical movement tothe rest of the housing assembly.

Generally, the radius of the sphere 220 and the upper and lower dishsurfaces may vary with physical characteristics of the embodiment, suchas the weight of the HDD 206 and the rigidity of the sphere 220. In oneexample, the radius of the sphere may be 8 mm while the radius of theupper and lower dish surfaces may be 12 mm. These dimensions of thesphere 220 and the upper and lower dish surfaces provide one example ofdimensions that may allow the HDD 206 to move laterally in response tothe rotational vibration or gyration of the HDD module while adequatelysupporting the HDD from coming into contact with the rest of the housingassembly 200 during vibration.

FIG. 3 depicts a side view of an embodiment of a hard drive disc housingassembly including a counter-vibration mounting assembly incorporatingspheres. The housing assembly 300 shown in FIG. 3 is similar to thehousing assemblies shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, the housing assembly300 may include an HDD cover 302 and a mounting bracket 304 encasing anHDD 306. Further, the housing assembly 300 may include one or moresphere and dish surface counter-vibration assemblies as explained abovewith reference to FIG. 2.

In addition to the features explained above, the housing assembly mayalso include one or more bumper 312 devices configured to cushion theHDD 306 in the event that the housing assembly 300 is dropped orknocked. For example, as explained above, the HDD 306 and mounting frame326 may be fully supported by the spheres 320 of the counter-vibrationassembly. Thus, the HDD 306 may not be in contact with any other part ofthe housing assembly, essentially creating a clearance space between theHDD and the rest of the housing assembly 300. This clearance space mayprovide room for the HDD 306 to vibrate or gyration within the housingassembly 300 without transferring the mechanical movement to the housingassembly. However, a bumper 312 device may be implemented within thebox-like housing to cushion the HDD 306 from impacting the sides or topof the housing assembly 300, thereby possibly damaging the HDD.

In one embodiment, the bumper device 312 may include one or moreprotrusions extending into the box-like interior of the housing assembly300. The protrusions 312 may be biased such that they act as springswhen compressed from the inside of the housing assembly. For example,the bumper 312 of FIG. 3 may be a small, rectangular protrusion attachedto or otherwise associated with the mounting bracket 304. The protrusion312 may be attached to the mounting bracket 304 at one end and biasedsuch that when pressed from the inside of the housing assembly, theprotrusion may exert a counter-force against the pressure. Thus, if theHDD 306 within the housing assembly were to press against the protrusion312, the bumper may cushion the force with which the HDD may exert onthe side of the housing assembly 300. This cushion may protect the HDD306 from violently impacting the interior of the housing assembly 300box. Further, several protrusions 312 may be located on each side and onthe top of the box-like interior of the housing assembly to protect theHDD 306 from every direction.

Other bumper devices may also be used with the describedimplementations. For example, metal springs may be used to cushion theHDD 306 from impacting the interior of the housing assembly. Otherimplementations may take the form of, but are not limited to, aprotective cover placed over the HDD 306 itself, a set of rubberstoppers and a foam padding placed on the inside surface of the housingassembly to cushion any impact. Generally, any device that may cushionthe impact between the HDD 306 and the inside surfaces of the housingassembly when the device is dropped or knocked may be used with thepresent implementations.

FIG. 4 depicts a top view of an embodiment of a hard drive disc housingassembly including a counter-vibration mounting system incorporatingspheres. The housing assembly shown in FIG. 4 is similar to the housingassembly shown in FIGS. 1 through 3.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 may include a HDD cover 402 as part ofthe HDD housing assembly 400 and an interface opening 408 as describedabove with reference to FIG. 1. Further, this embodiment may includefour counter-vibration assemblies 410 to support an HDD and absorb therotational vibration or gyration caused by an imbalanced platter of theHDD.

The four counter-vibration assemblies 410 of the embodiment may beplaced on the corners of the housing assembly 400 on each side, orotherwise positioned as necessary. Thus, the HDD may be fully supportedby the spheres of the counter-vibration assemblies 410 at each corner ofthe HDD device. The support and vibration absorption may be provided bythe counter-vibration assemblies 410 in a similar manner as describedabove with reference to FIG. 2.

It should be appreciated that the different embodiments of the housingassembly 400 may include any number of counter-vibration assemblies 410to support and absorb rotational vibration or gyration from the HDD. Forexample, one embodiment may include eight counter-vibration assemblies410, one on each corner and one on each side of the HDD. In anotherembodiment, only one counter-vibration assembly 410 may be included,with the HDD resting on the counter-vibration assembly such that theassembly may absorb the HDD vibration or gyration.

FIG. 5 depicts a bottom view of an embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting systemincorporating spheres. The housing assembly 500 shown in FIG. 5 issimilar to the housing assembly shown in FIGS. 1 through 4.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 may include a mounting bracket 504including four counter-vibration assemblies 510 located at the cornersof the housing assembly 500. An HDD 506 may be attached or otherwiseassociated with a mounting frame 526. The mounting frame 526 may alsoinclude an upper dish surface while the mounting bracket 504 may includea lower dish surface as described above with reference to FIG. 2.Further, the mounting frame 526 and HDD 506 may be supported by a sphereof the counter-vibration assemblies 510 such that the sphere may absorbthe vibration or gyration caused by the HDD module during operation.Further, several bumper devices 512 may protrude into the clearancespace between the HDD 506 and the inside surface of the housingassembly. The bumper devices may cushion the HDD 506 from coming intocontact with the housing assembly as described above with reference toFIG. 3. Each of the features shown in FIG. 5 may be similar to thefeatures described above with reference to FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 depicts a side view of a second embodiment of a hard drive dischousing assembly including a counter-vibration mounting assemblyincorporating spheres located above and below the hard disc drive. Thecounter-vibration assemblies of the embodiment may support the HDD andabsorb the rotational vibration or gyration of the HDD module inelectronic devices that may operate in several different orientations.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 may include a similar housing assembly asdescribed above, including a HDD cover 602 and a mounting bracket 604coupled to create a box-like structure to encase an HDD. The embodimentmay further include bumpers 612 located within the interior of thebox-like structure to cushion the HDD as described above.

The embodiment may also include a lower set of counter-vibrationassemblies supporting the bottom of the HDD in a similar mannerdescribed above. For example, four counter-vibration assemblies may belocated at the corners of the HDD to support the HDD module and absorbthe rotational vibrations of the platter or platters. Thesecounter-vibration mounting assemblies may include a sphere 620 locatedbetween an upper dish 622 surface and a lower dish surface 624. Theupper dish 622 may be coupled to a lower mounting frame which, in turn,may be coupled to the bottom of the HDD. The lower dish 624 may becoupled to the mounting bracket 604 of the housing assembly 600. Asdescribed above, the counter-vibration assemblies may support the HDDwhen the HDD is in an upright position and absorb the vibration orgyration caused by an imbalanced platter assembly of the HDD module.

The embodiment may also include a second set of counter-vibrationassemblies located at the top of the HDD. These counter-vibrationassemblies may be similar to the assemblies that support the HDD fromthe bottom. Thus, the upper counter-vibration mounting assemblies mayinclude a sphere 620 located between an upper dish 634 surface and alower dish surface 632. The upper dish 634 may be coupled to the HDDcover 602. The lower dish 632 may be coupled to an upper mounting framewhich, in turn, may be coupled to the top of the HDD. In alternativeembodiments, the HDD may be coupled to a single mounting frame thatprovides the upper dish 622 of the lower counter-vibration assembliesand the lower dish 632 of the upper counter-vibration assemblies.Generally, the location and number of top and bottom counter-vibrationassemblies may vary.

The upper and lower set of counter-vibration mounting assemblies mayprovide support to the HDD and absorption of the HDD vibration. Thus, ifthe HDD housing assembly is turned upside down, the upper set ofcounter-vibration assemblies may now support the HDD and absorb thevibration or gyration of the HDD module in a similar manner as describedabove in relation to the bottom set of counter-vibration assemblies.Thus, the HDD device may operate in either the upright orientation orthe upside down orientation with the vibration or gyration of the HDDmodule being absorbed by the counter-vibration assemblies.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention.Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments willbe apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein.It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be ableto devise numerous systems, arrangements and methods which, although notexplicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of theinvention and are thus within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. From the above description and drawings, it will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the particularembodiments shown and described are for purposes of illustration onlyand are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.References to details of particular embodiments are not intended tolimit the scope of the invention.

1. A storage device mounting assembly comprising: a mounting framedefining an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surfaceconfigured to couple to a storage device; at least one upper concavesurface coupled to the mounting frame, the upper concave surfaceoriented away from the mounting frame; at least one sphere; and at leastone lower concave surface oriented at least partially beneath the atleast one upper concave surface, wherein the at least one sphere isoriented between the at least one upper concave surface and the at leastone lower concave surface such that the at least one sphere is at leastpartially enclosed within the at least one upper concave surface and theat least one lower concave surface and supports the at least one upperconcave surface.
 2. The storage mounting assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising a mounting bracket coupled to the at least one lower concavesurface.
 3. The storage mounting assembly of claim 2, further comprisinga cover releasably coupled to the mounting bracket, such that the coverand the mounting bracket form a box-like structure, wherein the harddisc drive is encased within the box-like structure.
 4. The storagemounting assembly of claim 3, further comprising a snap devicereleasably coupled to the mounting frame.
 5. The storage mountingassembly of claim 1, further comprising: three additional upper concavesurfaces coupled to the mounting frame; three additional spheres; andthree additional lower concave surfaces such that each upper concavesurface is associated with one of the lower concave surfaces and asphere is oriented between the associated upper and lower concavesurfaces.
 6. The storage mounting assembly of claim 5, wherein the fourupper concave surfaces are located at four corners of the mountingframe.
 7. The storage mounting assembly of claim 1, wherein the at leastone sphere is constructed from a vibration absorption material.
 8. Thestorage mounting assembly of claim 3, further comprising at least onebumper assembly coupled to an inside surface of the cover, the at leastone bumper assembly configured to cushion the storage device fromimpacting the inside surface of the cover.
 9. An apparatus for absorbingvibrations of a storage device comprising: a lower mounting framecoupled to a bottom surface of a storage device; an upper mounting framecoupled to a top surface of the storage device; and at least onevibration-absorbing assembly comprising: a first concave surface coupledto the lower mounting frame or the upper mounting frame; a sphere; and asecond concave surface coupled to a storage device housing, wherein thesphere is oriented between the first concave surface and the secondconcave surface such that the sphere is at least partially enclosedwithin the first concave surface and the second concave surface.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, further comprising: a cover; and a mountingbracket configured to mount the storage device in an electronic device,wherein the cover is releasably coupled to the mounting bracket, suchthat the cover and the mounting bracket form a box-like structureencasing the storage device within the box-like structure.
 11. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein at least four upper vibration-absorbingassemblies and four lower vibration-absorbing assemblies support thestorage device.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the secondconcave surface of each of the upper vibration-absorbing assemblies iscoupled to the upper mounting frame and the second concave surface ofeach of the lower vibration-absorbing assemblies is coupled to the lowermounting frame.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first concavesurface of each of the upper vibration-absorbing assemblies is coupledto the cover and the first concave surface of each of the lowervibration-absorbing assemblies is coupled to the mounting bracket, suchthat the four upper vibration-absorbing assemblies and four lowervibration-absorbing assemblies absorb the vibrations of the storagedevice.
 14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the sphere is constructedfrom an elastomer gel material.
 15. The apparatus of claim 10, furthercomprising at least one bumper assembly coupled to the inside surface ofthe cover, the at least one bumper assembly configured to cushion thestorage device from impacting the inside surface of the cover.
 16. Amethod for absorbing vibrations of a storage device comprising: mountingthe storage device on a mounting frame, the mounting frame including afirst concave surface oriented away from the storage device; orientingthe first concave surface over a sphere constructed ofvibration-absorbing material; orienting the sphere within a secondconcave surface, the second concave surface associated with a mountingbracket, such that the sphere is at least partially enclosed within thefirst concave surface and the second concave surface and supports themounting bracket.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprisingencasing the storage device within a box-like structure, the box-likestructure comprising a top piece and the mounting bracket.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein vibrations of the hard disc drive aretranslated through the first concave surface to the sphere, such thatthe sphere at least partially absorbs the vibrations.
 19. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising attaching at least one bumper device to aninside surface of the top piece, the at least one bumper deviceconfigured to cushion the storage device from impacting the insidesurface of the top piece.
 20. The method of claim 16 wherein the sphereis constructed from an elastomer gel material.